The Falcon's Wing - Hardcover

Buchanan, Dawna Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531085864 ISBN 13: 9780531085868

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1992

Synopsis

Arriving unannounced at her Aunt Pearl's farm in Ontario, Bryn, whose mother, Pearl's sister, has recently died, finds a friend in Winnie, her open and friendly cousin with Down's syndrome.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Bryn Cameron, 12, is confused and frightened: her father has pulled up stakes in Ohio and taken her to live with her recently deceased mother's sister in Ontario. At first, life on the farm is tense; Aunt Pearl seems stony and overfastidious, and Bryn must also adjust to her father's emotional withdrawal and to living with cousin Winnie, 14, who has Down's syndrome. But it turns out that Pearl is not as she first seemed: she loved Bryn's mother dearly and lives with the regret of their estrangement. Meanwhile, the other kids ridicule Bryn because of Winnie (maliciously dubbed ``Snake Girl''); but as Bryn bears daily witness to the love between Pearl and her daughter, she too learns to see beyond Winnie's limitations and becomes her champion at school, defying the bullying Rita and entering into a dangerous encounter that ends with the near-drowning of a child. Life begins to settle as Bryn's father starts to emerge from his shell and decides to stay at Pearl's. This first novel alternately delights and disappoints: while Winnie's relationships with Bryn and with Pearl are richly developed, there are many unanswered questions--not the least of which is why Bryn and her father have come to live with an estranged relative; there are also cryptic references to characters' motivations, particularly Rita's. An uneven first showing from an author worth watching. (Fiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-7-- Twelve - year - old Bryn Cameron's life is shattered by the sudden death of her mother . Her down-on-his-luck father moves them from Ohio to Ontario , where they are taken in by the widowed Pearl, the apparently hard-hearted, long-estranged sister of the deceased Julia Cameron. While her father works long hours for their board and withdraws into his own thoughts, the lonely girl chafes at heavy new responsibilities and at Pearl's strictness and bossiness. Winnie, Pearl's daughter who has Down syndrome, is a constant presence who annoys, embarrasses, and even frightens Bryn. As months pass, Bryn comes to understand the adults in her life; becomes her cousin's defender against cruel taunts; and embarks on a romance with a boy who shares her love of books and reading. To him, she confides her secret--that her mother's death was self-inflicted, a fact that she has been unable to face. This is a slow-moving story, and the action is forced, or telegraphed far in advance. Several story lines are left hanging, and the explanation of the manner in which Bryn's mother died is awkwardly handled. It will require a mighty effort to become involved with the characters; few readers will have such resolve. --Libby K. White, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0531085864
• ISBN 13: 9780531085868
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 131